Tori Spelling praises JoJo Siwa despite criticism of rebrand: ‘You kick ass’

JoJo Siwa has a fan in Tori Spelling.

The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum gushed over the former “Dance Moms” star via her Instagram Story on Thursday following the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which took place in Los Angeles.

Atop a snapshot they took at the event on Monday, Spelling wrote, “And, this one … we bonded over my kiddos and I’ve loved watching your journey and you kick ass!”

The 50-year-old actress’ sweet message comes as Siwa, 20, receives sharp criticism for her ongoing rebrand from a glittery child icon to a mature young adult.

Last week, she released a clip of her new single, “Karma,” which features cursing and cheeky lyrics like, “I was a bad girl, I did some bad things.” She also resembled Britney Spears by rocking a nude illusion catsuit for its music video, which premieres Friday with the entire song.

For her iHeartRadio appearance, she seemingly channeled the rock group Kiss with a black, bedazzled, mesh and fishnet catsuit. She styled her hair in a braided mohawk and painted black shapes around her eyes, her chin and down her chest.

People aren’t just questioning Siwa’s “hilarious and sad” rebrand because of her new sense of style and music, but because she compared herself to Miley Cyrus’ transition into adulthood with her 2013 album “Bangerz.”

“someone please tell jojo siwa that to pull off a miley cyrus bangerz era she actually needs to be talented enough for anyone to care,” one X user slammed ahead of the release of “Karma.”

“Jojo siwa comparing herself to Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears pissed me off for the entire week,” a second person complained.

Yet another angry X user wrote, “Jojo siwa needs to stop saying stupid things promoting that lazy ass lady Gaga wannabe type of song.”

Despite the disapproval on social media, Siwa seems to be feeling confident with the direction she’s headed.

“People are afraid of things they don’t know,” Siwa explained to E! News on the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. “Things can be scary for people. New things can be very, very scary.”

“The way that I’m able to keep going and keep being like, ‘Wait, actually what I’m doing is right’ is because some of the most respected people in the world have come up to me and been like, ‘What you’re doing right now is so right. It is what the world needs, and I’m learning from what you are doing right now,’” she added.

In addition to Spelling, who recently filed for divorce from Dean McDermott after 18 years of marriage, Siwa was also praised by Kiss rocker Gene Simmons.

“JoJo is cool. Anybody who doesn’t get it is just jealous, period,” he told TMZ Wednesday.

“Never be ordinary. Always be extraordinary. JoJo is extraordinary and she looks cool.”